Double pull hood latch with interlock device

Abstract

A hood latch system for a motor vehicle includes a vehicle hood latch assembly configured in operable communication with a gearshift member. The vehicle hood latch assembly is prevented from unintended release of a vehicle hood striker, fixed to a hood of the motor vehicle, from a ratchet of the latch assembly when the gearshift member is shifted into a non-parked mode. When the gear shift member is selectively actuated in a park mode, the vehicle hood latch assembly is actuated to release the striker from the ratchet, thereby allowing the hood to be opened.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 404,956 filed Oct. 6, 2016 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 366,923 filed Jul. 26, 2016. The entire disclosure of each of the above applications is incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE[0002]The present disclosure relates to latches for closure panels and more particularly to hood latch assemblies for motor vehicles equipped with an interlock device.BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE[0003]Latches for vehicle hoods and the like are typically actuated in two stages. During a first stage a first release device, such as a handle, is actuated inside the vehicle which moves the latch from a primary closed position to secondary closed position. To release the latch completely the vehicle occupant typically must exit the vehicle and actuate a second release device, such as a lever, that is under the hood. This may be inconvenient in some situations.[000...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a latch assembly for a hood release, and preferably a multiple pull latch assembly, and more preferably a double pull latch assembly, has a release lever of the latch assembly in operable communication with a gearshift member inside the vehicle to coordinate the position of the release lever in response to select actuation of the gearshift lever. The multi-pull latch assembly of the present disclosure interacts with the gearshift lever to provide an interlock mechanism configured to prevent the latch assembly from remaining in a released condition as a result of a soft hood close event as well as to prevent the risk of the vehicle driver driving away after a double pull release of the hood prior with the hood in a fully-released state.

[0008]In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a hood latch system for a motor vehicle is provided. The system includes a latch assembly having a release lever, a pawl assembly, and a ratchet. The release lever is pivotable from a home position to a neutral position. In the home position, the pawl assembly is maintained in locked engagement with the ratchet to maintain a striker fixed to a hood of the motor vehicle in a fully latched state in a fishmouth of the latch assembly. In the neutral position the pawl assembly is selectively movable to a release position out of locked engagement with the ratchet, whereupon the ratchet, while released from locked engagement from the pawl assembly, releases the striker from releases the striker from the fishmouth to allow the hood to be opened. Further, the system includes an interlock device configured in operable communication with the release lever. The interlock device is capable of recognizing a parked state and a non-parked state, such as neutral, reverse, and drive of the motor vehicle. The interlock device is capable of maintaining the release lever in the home position to prevent unintended release of the striker from the ratchet when the interlock device recognizes the non-parked state of the motor vehicle, and automatically moving the release lever to the neutral position when the interlock device recognizes the parked state of the motor vehicle.

[0017]In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, the gearshift member is configured for dual actuation along the second plane from the parked position to an actuated position and back to the parked position. During a first actuation the pawl assembly maintains the ratchet in a first release position to partially release the striker from the ratchet but prevent complete release of the striker from the ratchet. Upon a second actuation of the gearshift member from the parked position to the actuated position and back to the parked position, the pawl assembly allows the ratchet to completely release the striker from the ratchet.

[0018]In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a method of preventing an inadvertent unlatching of a latch assembly for a motor vehicle is provided. The method includes operably communicating a gearshift member with a release lever of the vehicle latch assembly having a pawl and a ratchet. Further yet, configuring the gearshift member to maintain the release lever in a locked, home position to maintain the pawl in locked abutment with the ratchet, such that a striker fixed to a hood of the motor vehicle is maintained in a locked position within a fishmouth of the vehicle latch assembly when the gearshift member is in a non-parked position.

[0022]In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, the method can further include configuring the gearshift member for movement along a first plane between a parked position and the non-parked positions whereupon the pawl remains in the locked, home position, and for movement along a second plane, transverse to the first plane, whereupon the pawl releases the ratchet for movement to a release position, thereby allowing the striker to be released from the fishmouth of the vehicle latch assembly.

Problems solved by technology

This may be inconvenient in some situations.

One drawback of such a double-pull release latch for a vehicle hood is that the user may unintentionally release the hood, or have forgotten that they have released the hood, and then proceed to drive away leaving the hood in a state where it can be caught by the wind and flung upwardly.

One drawback of having latches with snow load levers is that upon a soft close of the hood, the force of the hood closure may not be sufficient to transition the latch to at least the secondary closed position due to the snow load lever maintaining the pawl in disengaged engagement with the ratchet.

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